Dumb as bricks

Don’t waste your time looking back. You’re not going that way. – Ragnar Lothbrok Patricia and Nelly stand close to each other at a bus stop, sharing the task of holding a book open in front of them. Only Nelly is looking at it, though; Patricia is too preoccupied with the hand resting on her … Read more

Pun intended

If you have to force it, leave it. Relationships. Friendships. Yoga poses. Perfect ponytails. Let that shit go. – Akua Naru When asked to discuss the inspiration behind his fictional character, Emma Bovary, Gustave Flaubert is reported to have said, without hesitation: “Madame Bovary, c’est moi.” Though there exists no written trace of this sentence … Read more

Wait for it

If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans. – Woody Allen Madame Clarabelle Rossignol is a woman of a certain age. She wears a bright orange dress with long sleeves. Her hat, more decorative than functional, matches in form and color the large purple shawl wrapped high around her neck. Her … Read more

Don’t bring it with you

Picture your dream home. I bet it’s not filled with clutter. – Joshua Becker It starts with Adho Mukha Shvanasana and ends 22 days later with Balasana. Ten dogs, all of them doing yoga. Impatiently. Peevishly. Ten colored pencil pieces, all of them made at one of the little round tables outside Café Regular du … Read more

Over over

What’s past is prologue, and the world awaits. – Lisa Mantchev The family resemblance between Albertine and Mariette is evident: both are pale-skinned, square-nosed, rosy-cheeked, freckly gingers. The way they style their thick eyebrows and their equally thick, long hair in braided coils around their ears suggests a particular closeness. They are cousins, Irish ones … Read more

What a silly question

For nothing will be impossible with God. – Luke, 1:37 The mountain in L’Alpiniste is a glacial boulder floating in mid-air. The cloud is blue. The sky is white. In a climate too frigid to support life stands an underdressed figure unaffected by the cold, a cat strapped to his back like a knapsack. Nothing … Read more

What can it hurt?

Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at his disposition, and listening to His voice in the depths of our hearts. – Mother Theresa The bodybuilding exercises my friend Camille incorporates into our powerwalks along the St. Charles River include simple movements like sit-ups and squats. I wish we would skip the jumping … Read more

Portrait of the artist

Learn to live from the inside, the bull’s eye of your true being. -Sandra Walston There are always three people at play in my work: Toothpick, the inner artist child who conceives of the ideas; me, the adult with the hands and the materials necessary for bringing them to life; and Frankie, the inner writer … Read more

Yes, daddy

Next to love, balance is the most important thing. – John Wooden The little yellow dresser someone has left out for the taking at the corner of Myrtle and Adelphi just half a block from my building would look great in the entryway of my apartment. The table sitting there now with its one miniature … Read more